About Me

Three years ago, I felt the air deflate from my lungs when a caring orthopedic doctor suggested that I may have a form of inflammatory arthritis. Passionate about exercising and enjoying an active lifestyle, I was devastated. While the past few years haven’t been easy, I’ve learned to savor each day as a gift. When I experience a day of intense joint swelling and stiffness, I try to remind myself that it might be followed by several relatively pain free days. I’ve also learned to conduct research about my disease and be open to trying the many available treatment options for this medical condition. Good nutrition, stretching exercises, and certain medications have become my best allies in my battle with inflammatory arthritis. On this blog, I want to provide reassurance to others who have been diagnosed with this condition that life goes on. And, it can be surprisingly wonderful. Enjoy!

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Your heart is one of the most important organs of the body. It keeps you alive, so you need to take care of it. This is particularly true when you consider the fact that one in every four deaths is related to heart disease and that it is the number one cause of death in the United States. There are many ways you can take care of your heart, but your diet plays a pretty big role. In fact, there are certain foods that are exceptionally good for your heart that you could consider adding into your daily diet (or at least eating more often). Three of these are listed below:

1. Dark Chocolate

Believe it or not, you can actually eat chocolate and gain health benefits for doing so. Dark chocolate contains high amounts of flavonoids and antioxidants that help to conquer your bad cholesterol levels. One study shows that individuals who eat 100 grams of dark chocolate on a daily basis could reduce their risk of heart disease significantly. Keep in mind that research only condones consumption of dark chocolate for heart-healthy benefits and that it should contain at least 60–70% percent cocoa.

2. Spinach

Spinach is primarily good for your heart because of its high potassium content. Research has shown that the that daily consumption of 4,069 mg of potassium could reduce your risk of heart disease-related death by 37 percent as opposed to consumption of less than 1,800 grams a day. Potassium can also greatly reduce your risk of stroke, improve functioning of blood vessels and lower your blood pressure.

3. Sweet Potatoes

Probably best known for their use in holiday desserts, sweet potatoes are very healthy vegetables. While they contain various nutrients and vitamins that are excellent for improving your eyesight and turning back the clock on aging, they also contain the right antioxidants that keep your heart strong and healthy. Sweet potatoes contain B6 vitamins, which are known to be extremely helpful in breaking down a particular substance that is known for its ability to harden arteries and blood vessels. In addition, sweet potatoes contain potassium, which keeps that heartbeat regular.

If heart disease runs in your family, or you have started experiencing higher blood pressure than usual, you need to consider speaking to a heart specialist like Cardiology Associates Of Schenectady PC. It's better to find out now if there's something going on or could potentially occur so that treatment can begin sooner rather than later when it might be too late to reverse the damage that has been done.